


Legacy

by Toomanyfandoms99



Series: Skybridger Word Generator Prompts [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bonding, Canonical Character Death, Established Relationship, First Meetings, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Memorials, Post-Star Wars: A New Hope, Post-Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Pre-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Tatooine, Time Skips, Yavin 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:01:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29251881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toomanyfandoms99/pseuds/Toomanyfandoms99
Summary: When he is satisfied, he settles his posture and caps the marker.  He observes the name amongst the special carved ones.  He sighs sadly.“Defacing walls, are we?”Luke jumps, head snapping over his shoulder.  His eyes trail up to a semi-familiar face.  Someone he’s seen around base.  He blanks on the name.“U-uh,” Luke shakes his head, heat reddening his face, “n-no.”
Relationships: Ezra Bridger/Luke Skywalker
Series: Skybridger Word Generator Prompts [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1980082
Comments: 11
Kudos: 49





	Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this idea in my head for a long time. It didn’t come out as planned, but I hope everyone likes it.

The memorial on Yavin 4 has hundreds of names on it. Hundreds of names carved into the cave wall of the base. Years of Rebel deaths litters the corner of the hangar bay. No one goes there.

No one except Luke.

Every night, when he cannot sleep, he pads over to this corner of the wall. He criss-crosses on the floor and tips his head up at the looming structure. He has read every name, lingered too long on Biggs.

But they do not have his name. Ben’s name.

So a month to the day he died, Luke steals a permanent marker, only used for delineating contents of crates, from Leia. He plops on the ground, leaning towards the bottom of the list, and uncaps the marker.

The dark point presses against the wall. Luke’s penmanship and literacy skills are shaky, but he concentrates to get every letter right:

‘Ben Kenobi.’

When he is satisfied, he settles his posture and caps the marker. He observes the name amongst the special carved ones. He sighs sadly.

“Defacing walls, are we?”

Luke jumps, head snapping over his shoulder. His eyes trail up to a semi-familiar face. Someone he’s seen around base. He blanks on the name.

“U-uh,” Luke shakes his head, heat reddening his face, “n-no.”

He doesn’t need to explain himself to this stranger. He clears his throat and breathes through his embarrassment.

The boy suddenly smiles. It looks strange against such a somber facial structure. His eyes sparkle to go along with it, though, and he looks younger in seconds. Childish.

“Not to worry,” he says breezily, dropping to a crouch, facing the wall beside Luke, “I won’t tell.”

The boy studies his profile, and Luke stares at the name to miss his gaze. Why is he so close?

He looks at the wall, then freezes on the name in marker. “Kenobi?”

When Luke faces the boy in surprise, his copper skin takes on a sickly olive tone. The scars below his eyes darken prominently.

Excitement is a dull bloom, a hesitant spark in his chest. Luke gasps, “you know him?”

The boy blinks at the name, unable to tear his eyes away from it. 

“I met him once,” he finally says. “I wondered why...he must have been protecting you.”

The boy stares at him. His drawn face doesn’t make him look like a boy anymore.

Luke absorbs what he’s saying, what it means, and he sucks in a breath. He holds it. Then exhales, “you’re a Jedi?”

He shrugs in answer. His eyes take on a shadowy tone when he regards Luke. “I take it he didn’t teach you much about the Force, huh?”

Luke shakes his head, eyes wide and mouth parted in disbelief. This boy must be around his age, but he had experience. It is obvious in his expression.

“Well,” the stranger offers a hand, “I’m Ezra Bridger.”

Luke can’t believe his luck. Well...not luck. Apparently there’s no luck. Or something.

The Force’s will. That is what’s responsible.

Blinking, Luke grasps the hand. The warmth as he shakes the hand is shocking, strange in its familiarity. Something aligns, though Luke cannot imagine what it could be or why.

“I’m Luke,” he says, dropping the hand after a brief hesitation, “Luke Skywalker.”

Ezra bristles, dropping to the ground and spinning to face Luke’s side. Now, he is the one who looks surprised. “Did you say Skywalker?”

Luke bobs his head, arching a brow. “Yeah?”

“As in,” Ezra’s gaze darts across Luke’s face, “Anakin Skywalker?”

“Did you know him too?” Luke is wary in getting his hopes up.

“I’ve heard of him,” Ezra says carefully, “he was apparently one of the best Jedi that ever lived.”

Luke hasn’t heard that one before. “Really?”

Ezra searches Luke for an indication of something. He must find it, because he asks, “was he your father?” 

Since Ezra knows so much, Luke sees no harm in nodding affirmatively.

Ezra hums. “That explains your brightness.”

“My what?”

“Brightness?”

When Luke stares blankly for a moment, Ezra simply smiles.

“Not to worry,” he soothes, “Kanan, my Master, would want me to teach you, so I will.”

The way Ezra says his name tells Luke all he needs to know. Yet, Luke can’t help himself. He’s curious.

“How long ago?” Luke asks softly.

Ezra’s gaze drops as he replies, “two years.”

Luke doesn’t want to repeat the usual apologies. They don’t help him, so why would they help Ezra?

Instead, he murmurs, “it gets better, right?”

Ezra glances at the name. His eyes trace the letters written in marker: ‘Ben Kenobi.’

His attention returns to Luke. “Yes.”

That glimmer of hope is what gets Luke to smile. He could forgive himself for all of their deaths: Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru, and Ben. It would take time, but he could do it. 

Ezra rises to his feet with jarring fluidity. His fingers open, revealing a palm. An offer to help stand.

Acting before he could gape, he grasps the hand. Fingers wrap around a wrist. The same familiar warmth returns, a simmering glow from the rays of twin suns. Not enough to burn, but enough to stave off the cold empty spaces.

Luke shifts to a crouch, legs messily pushing him upwards. The hand leaves his as he brushes away minuscule specks of grime from the hangar bay.

When he looks at Ezra’s face, level with his, Luke wants to say more. Talk about his family being gone, not just Ben. It is a ripple across his mind, and he pushes the thought away.

Somehow, though, Ezra understands. Reads it in him. A spark acknowledges it. Blinks, and lets it go.

“Come on,” Ezra nudges his head towards the expanse of starships, “I’ll introduce you to my...found family.”

The bustling filters into Luke’s awareness. The madness of shouted orders and clipped conversations lie there, even at night. This tucked-away corner had to be left sometime.

Found family. That’s what Ezra said. It meant he’s lost as much as Luke.

Ezra begins to walk, and Luke trails after him. 

-

Five years. 

He sits in the passenger’s seat of the landspeeder. He is glad he didn’t drive. It is like he knew subconsciously looking at the sandstone hut would do this to him. Make him freeze at the sight, nearer than it has been in so long.

Five years. Five years since he left this planet.

Five years since they died. Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen, Biggs. Ben.

The rumbling engine is cut short by the flick of a switch. Sand twirls and rests, leaving behind a rustic film on the windshield. 

Eyes are on his profile. Quiet. Waiting. Impatient, but waiting quietly nonetheless.

Luke sighs, air falling from a sliver of his parted mouth. The hut is untouched. The Tuskens were afraid of the old wizard man. Luke is unsure whether to be comforted at the respect or worried about possible traps.

He rubs his prosthetic arm on his thigh, feeling the dark fabric of his Jedi outfit. Where the others find it silly, Luke falls into the confident mindset that he could, he would, he does have the power. He’s a supernova with scars, as Ezra is quick to remind him.

As if in answer to his thoughts, a hand is offered from the driver’s seat of the landspeeder. Rather than rub at fabric, Luke takes it, brings it to his lap. Focuses on the support. Claps his other hand on top, thumb rubbing worn knuckles.

Five years. An anniversary in many respects, not just the sad. The happy as well.

A supernova with scars. The legacy of Ben Kenobi, of Anakin Skywalker, of Beru and Owen Lars. A Jedi. 

He lifts his eyes towards Ben’s hut. The beginning of the end. It awaits him. No more diversions. Just the beginning of the end.

Luke exhales through his nose. The weight, the apprehension of what looms ahead leaves him. The hand anchors him, spurs him to continue.

Turning to the side and pitching forward, Luke’s mouth catches on Ezra’s cheek. His mouth quirks upwards in answer. A flush flatters Ezra’s skin even though they’ve kissed plenty.

Unlatching their hands before he can second guess himself, Luke clicks open the landspeeder door. He swings over his legs and drops into the sand. 

And he starts towards Ben’s hut, ready for whatever knowledge lies inside.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated!


End file.
